North Plainfield Rescue Squad may soon respond to emergencies

NORTH PLAINFIELD — The North Plainfield Rescue Squad is expected to resume responding to emergency calls this week, according to borough officials, a month after it was pulled off duty when two of its officers were charged with drug possession.

The North Plainfield Fire Department has handled overnight and weekend emergency calls since the incident occurred, while the volunteer squad was tasked with completing an internal investigation, reorganizing and evaluating procedures. At that time, it was expected that the squad would resume handling overnight calls Monday.

A final meeting between the squad and fire department will be held today, according to borough administrator David Hollod. The final call on whether the volunteer squad can resume its duties will be made by Mayor Michael Giordano Jr., in consultation with Fire Chief William Eaton, Hollod said.

The administration “remains concerned about the stability and the long term viability of the squad,” he said. Assurances that are sought include the squad’s staffing levels, ability to maintain equipment and facility and ability to recruite new members, he said.

“If everything is clear, I would say the rescue squad would almost immediately take over,” he said. It could be as early as tonight or, if not, sometime this week, he said.

Today’s meeting is the “last piece of the puzzle” for the rescue squad to resume responding to calls, Eaton said.

However, they will no longer handle all emergency calls on the weekends, he said. The fire department will permanently handle emergency calls from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends as well as weekdays, Eaton said. The squad will respond to calls from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily.

The transition was already in its planning stages before the incident occurred, he said, part of a planned merger of parts of the two operations.